Suiting up for camp: Bavaro brothers succeed in summer football phenomena

Thursday

Jul 31, 2008 at 12:01 AMJul 31, 2008 at 10:41 PM

When Mark and David Bavaro, former standout National Football League players, were growing up in Danvers, an organized football camp was a foreign concept. But today, such training has grown to be a full-fledged business opportunity, providing youngsters from Pop Warner to high school an outlet to develop their athletic skills.

Joe McConnell

When Mark and David Bavaro, former standout National Football League players, were growing up in Danvers, an organized football camp was a foreign concept. But today, such training has grown to be a full-fledged business opportunity, providing youngsters from Pop Warner to high school an outlet to develop their athletic skills.

“Football camps are everywhere today, but when Mark and I were growing up, we went to the neighborhood parks and played games,” David said. “It was fine for us growing up not to be supervised, but today people are concerned about their kids, and they want them to be supervised during the day.”

Successful football camps require a number of qualified individuals, and the Bavaro brothers knew where to start 13 years ago when they were beginning the Bavaro Brothers Football Camp.

Longtime friend and veteran high school football coach Bill Maradei, who now coaches at Austin Prep, was chosen to be the camp director. And together, they built up a solid corps of individuals who coach or have coached in high school, with a couple of former scholastic stars thrown in for good measure.

The camp averaged at least 100 youngsters each summer. It became clear to Maradei and the Bavaroses that they would need more position coaches to accommodate every camper. There are 10 coaches participating in the one-week session, including Mark, David and Maradei.

“It’s a connection back to the game for us. You’re on the field, and many kids come back multiple times, which means we’re doing something right,” David said. “We offer more instruction and not a lot of yelling. I didn’t think it’d last this long, and in my mind, it’s still on a year-to-year basis.”

So popular was the camp that, at one time, the program grew to two one-week sessions at Danvers High School, where Mark and David nurtured their professional aspirations, and Austin Prep in Reading. But it proved to be too taxing, and so the three went back to a one-week camp, at Austin Prep, where Maradei is head football coach and a teacher.

The New York Giants, the team that employed Mark as an All-Pro two-time Super Bowl-winning tight end, have been the beneficiary of a couple of their former campers. Zach DeOssie, out of North Andover, was a rookie on last year’s Super Bowl team, and linebacker Jonathan Goff, from Lynn, joined DeOssie as a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft.

But that’s certainly not the primary objective of the camp.

“We’re not necessarily into producing guys like that. We want them to stay involved in the sport and get ready for their seasons ahead in youth football or the high school level,” David said. “The camp is a month before double sessions, and they have their helmets, shorts and cleats on to get ready for it.

“You never know what might happen. Some kids blossom late, but the important thing is that they have a connection with football.”

And compared to other football camps, the week is reasonably priced for athletes at $225.

The campers go through the same routine as the pros who show up for light workouts in June to prepare for double-sessions in July. Campers are put through two-hour morning and afternoon sessions with a break for lunch. Near the end of the week, a featured speaker addresses the campers; this year, former pro linebacker and current media sports analyst, Steve DeOssie, was in the spotlight. Camp ends on Friday with a pizza party and autograph session. This year, the camp ran from July 14-18.

Football drives the motivators

Maradei commits the time for the love of football and the loyalty he has to Mark and David.

“I have two sons who attend the camp, and the more they’re around them, the better they are,” he said.

“Mark and David are good people. They’re at the camp all day, and to see kids looking up to them with their big wide eyes for the first time is a nice feeling. They’re good Christian gentlemen,” Maradei added.

“At the pizza party, Mark and David would bring in some of their memorabilia, and also autograph the campers’ shirts and footballs. They’re there to the end, and we’re always the last ones to leave.”

Sherr, who graduated from Austin Prep, holds the record for most career points in the state with 682. He’s currently playing for the University of Connecticut.

From humble beginnings, the Bavaro Brothers Football Camp has grown into a Who’s Who of scholastic and collegiate football evaluators. With numbers increasing every year for football camps, there appears to be even more growth potential for a couple of former pros who just wanted to stay in the game.